Should you watch this at weekend movie ticket prices? Yes.
Should you buy the DVD? If you like horror.
Score: 4.5/5
Secret ending? No.
Running time: 103 minutes (~1.75 hours)
“10 Cloverfield Lane” is a science fiction psychological thriller that serves as a spiritual successor to 2008’s “Cloverfield.” A young woman, Michelle, finds herself trapped in a bunker with a strange man, Howard, who’s adamant about the horrors that lie outside. It stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Michelle), John Goodman (Howard Stambler), and John Gallagher, Jr (Emmett Dewitt). It is rated PG-13.
“10 Cloverfield Lane” sounds like a lame thriller from the outset, since it seems there’s very little you can do inside a bunker with three people. But the psychological drama complements the shock factor so well that you’re constantly kept on edge, even when the protagonists are in a safe and secure environment. “10 Cloverfield Lane” isn’t about disgusting monsters or freaky ghosts, but the psychotic extremes that humans can go to. And in the end, you realise that it might not have been that terrifying after all, comparatively speaking.
Highlights
Plays mind games with the audience
The film messes with the mind so much that you never really know what’s happening. You can’t trust your eyes to tell you what’s true or not, since it’s all a function of perspective anyway. The mystery of their situation periodically gets ravelled and unravelled, but the worst is the fear of the unseen. You’ll always be asking yourself this question: “What really happened?”
Intense scares
The frights are exciting set pieces that have you panicking as much as the heroes. It’s insanely scary, and the claustrophobic environment of the bunker is used to great effect to make the audience feel trapped and helpless. An incredible finale has you breathless from the moment the conflict begins all the way to the end, springing terrible revelations and horrifying new information on you.
Howard is fatherly but disturbing
Howard (John Goodman) comes across as the prototypical strict father figure who brooks no rivals to his authority, and you can understand why when he explains the hostile situation they’re in. Yet there’s that kind, loving side to him, and you see how he treats Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) as if she’s his own flesh and blood. It’s these two dichotomies of his character that have you wavering on your opinion towards him. But in a horror film, it’s the unknown that frequently turns out to be catalyst for good scares.
Good special effects
It’s science fiction for a reason, since their reasoning and plot elements borrow heavily from the genre. Even though it’s mostly a psychological drama, the special effects are well done, breathing reality into situations that probably won’t happen in real life. It ensures that the variety of scares are all of good quality, so you’re never once broken out of your suspense of disbelief.
Letdowns
Unexplained plot elements
As with all such films, there are always events or characters which aren’t fully explored. Also, the heavy use of an unreliable narrator of the situation in the outside world means that you also can’t quite be certain if his cause and effect explanations are the truth. But by the end of the film, there are still many details that you were expecting to learn of, which are never examined again. It doesn’t impact your enjoyment of the film, but it would have served to make a more well-developed world.
“10 Cloverfield Lane” proves that you don’t need ghosts or monsters to send your heart racing, since regular humans can be just as awful.
“10 Cloverfield Lane” opens in cinemas 7 April, 2016 (Thursday).
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